At least 12 dead in 'historic' Bronx building fire

The fast-moving flames were further whipped by desperate residents opening their windows to escape via the fire escapes, stoking the already raging blaze.

The survivors gathered afterward at St. Barnabas Hospital, where most of the injured were taken and several other victims declared dead.

"There were families in shock," said the Rev. Jonathan Morris, who spent the night at the hospital. "They just wanted to hug each other and pray."

The fire started when the toddler was playing with the oven and stovetop in the five-story Belmont building in the Bronx. (New York Daily News)

The victims included a Bronx woman and her 7-month-old granddaughter; a mother and her two daughters, ages 2 and 7; and a 12-year-old boy.

The youngster who started the blaze escaped safely with his mom and a 2-year-old sibling. High-ranking FDNY sources said the panicked child began screaming after the flames began spreading in the kitchen.

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"Fire!" he howled. "Fire!"

Maria Batiz and her 8-month-old granddaughter, Amora Vidal, died in the fire on Thursday. (Facebook)

The paternal grandmother of infant victim Amora Serenity Vidal was outraged that the little boy's mom left him unattended in the kitchen despite a history of such behavior.

"She should have been watching her kid," said Nyvia Vidal, 47, of the Bronx. "I'm an angry grandmother. This is all her fault. You have to watch your children. This didn't have to happen."

Nigro said the youngster "had a history of playing with the burners and turning them on. Before the mother knew it, this fire had gotten a good hold in the kitchen ... A lot of fire, a lot of smoke."

The grim aftermath of the blaze was chronicled in a 96-second clip release Friday afternoon, moving from the missing windows on the building's front facade to the post-fire debris dumped in its courtyard.

The blaze was the worst fire tragedy the city has seen in a quarter century, Mayor de Blasio said. (Sam Costanza/for New York Daily News)

The hand-held video takes the viewer into the dark, damp and dank interior of the building.

Icicles dangle from the railings of the building's lone staircase, bearing mute testament to the water poured on the raging blaze Thursday night.

One day later, authorities said four survivors were still fighting for their lives.

According to Nigro, there were 20 building residents outside on the fire escapes when the FDNY arrived about three minutes after the first 911 call.

Nigro blamed a combination of the flames and heavy smoke for the deaths.

Mayor de Blasio, on his weekly Friday radio show, described the Christmas week carnage as "a horrible, tragic accident" while absolving the building's landlord of any role in the nightmare.

Building residents were evacuated after a fatal fire at 2363 Prospect Ave. (James Keivom/New York Daily News)

Fire survivor Reginal Ramdhanie, 51, recounted a terrifying scene where people were trapped inside their apartments because the fire escapes were full — with no one directing the evacuees to the ground.

"There was no room for people to come out," he said. "I helped most people come down from the second and third floor."

Two other residents recounted spending 30 harrowing minutes on the fire escapes after the blaze erupted shortly before 7 p.m. Thursday.

Mothers and their children could be seen frantically scrambling down building fire escapes after the fire trapped them inside the apartments. Many wore just shorts and shirts on as they raced for their lives into the frigid 12-degree temperatures.

There were reports that the first floor had no working smoke detectors as recently as a month ago.

Nigro said the building was fitted with smoke alarms, but it was unclear if all were working.

And a city Department of Housing and Preservation Development spokesman said investigators will examine why the apartment door didn't close behind the family on the first floor.

The building is required to install self-closing doors, said spokesman Matthew Creegan.